On Saturday April 28, 2017 at approximately10:33PM Yarmouth Police Officers were dispatched to a home on Jupiter Lane in South Yarmouth for a report of a 49 year old male that had overdosed on heroin approximately ten minutes earlier.

The reporting party stated that her boyfriend had overdosed on heroin but she had left the house and she did not want to return. She also stated that there was a pit bull inside the house that was loose and agitated.

Police Officers arrived on scene along with members of the Yarmouth Fire Department. Police Officers and Firefighters could see the dog in the front window barking and appearing extremely aggressive. They further observed a man lying on his bed passed out and unresponsive.

Yarmouth Fire Department Officials began opening the window to gain access and the dog came into that room as well and was extremely threatening. Police and Firefighters were finally able to gain access through the rear garage door and entered the house as the dog was distracted by members of the Fire Department at the bedroom window. The dog then turned towards the Police Officers and a Police Officer had no choice but to deploy his Taser at the dog. The Taser was effective and held the dog off while a Patrol Officer grabbed the dying man’s legs and dragged him out the bedroom.

Patrol Officers closed the door behind them, locking the dog inside the bedroom as it still barked and ran at the door.

Members of the Yarmouth Fire and Police Departments dragged the victim by his legs to the living room then picked him up and brought him outside where Narcan and life support was deployed by Firefighters.

The Narcan and life support was effective and the victim regained consciousness and was transported by Yarmouth Fire Department ambulance to Cape Cod Hospital.

Police Officers remained at the scene and waited for Yarmouth Animal Control and Protection Officers to arrive and take custody of the dog. The dog was taken to a nearby Veterinarians Office where he was treated for a minor wound to his tongue.

The overdose victim recovered and was released from Cape Cod Hospital early Sunday morning and obtained his dog from the Veterinarian Office.

At 10:21AM Yarmouth Police Officers, Firefighters, Department of Natural Resources Officers, and Animal Care and Protection Officers responded to the same residence for a report of the same man overdosing again. The victim’s girlfriend reported that dog had been placed in a secure room prior to the arrival of First Responders.

Fortunately, the man was found conscious and breathing. He was examined by Yarmouth Fire Department personnel and he refused any further medical care.

We have experienced over 30 heroin related overdoses and 5 deaths so far in Yarmouth in 2017. If you or a loved one needs help, please call us anytime 24/7 and remember that we host weekly ‘Learn to Cope’ group therapy sessions and distribute Narcan every Tuesday night starting at 7PM here at Yarmouth Police Department Headquarters.”

Initial HN report according to sources on scene:

YARMOUTH – A man and his dog amazingly survived a deadly situation last evening thanks to the efforts of Yarmouth police, animal control, and natural resource officers…

Things could have easily been the other way around, with a dead dog and owner.

At about 10:30PM, Yarmouth Police Patrol Officers responded to a home on Jupiter Lane for a man overdosing on heroin.

Upon arrival, Officers met the patient’s male pit bull named “Petey.” According to officers, they were worried about their safety while entering the home, but there was no time to waste.

Upon entry, Petey reportedly became spooked and ran to his owner’s side in a back room.

Officers cautiously began treating the overdose patient, with Petey scared and watching them for the time being.

At first, the man appeared to be on death’s doorstep. But thankfully, he finally began to respond to treatment.

Petey was tolerant of the strangers up to the point when they began to remove his owner.

As Petey became aggressive with officers, Officers had to make a split-second decision in order to continue treating the stricken man.

In this situation, it would not be unusual for the officers to shoot the dog to save the patient.

Using the Taser is a risky second option because both prongs would need to hit the relatively small moving target in order to be effective. This all happened very quickly…

An officer took that risk and decided to deploy his Taser. One prong missed. The other prong hit Petey in the tongue. It was technically a “miss” because both prongs did not make contact. But thankfully for officers, the noise frightened Petey just long enough for them to lock him safely in a back room.

The man was transported to CCH and was expected to survive at the time of this report.

Yarmouth Patrol Officers were then concerned about Petey, who was now freaked out and badly injured with a Taser prong in his mouth.

As you will see in the following video, a Yarmouth Animal Control Officer arrived in order to rush Petey to a 24 hour emergency veterinarian in Dennis.

Powerful Petey did not seem aggressive at that point… but one never knows what a wounded animal will suddenly do.

The ACO was very gentle and concerned about Petey’s wound. However, she wasn’t able to use the usual abundance of treats to lure the dog into the crate because she was concerned the Taser prong could cause him to choke.

As you will see in the video, Petey would repeatedly almost make it into the crate before deciding he didn’t want any part of it.

The ACO decided she needed a second person with a second restraining pole.

Ten minutes later, a Yarmouth Natural Resource Officer arrived and after a struggle they were able to safely get the wounded Petey secured in the back of the truck.

During the struggle, Petey’s wound started to bleed. But thanks to the actions of Yarmouth Officers, Petey received emergency care in Dennis and was expected to be fine at the time of this report.

Because of the quick actions of police and rescue workers, Petey’s owner was also expected to survive.

HN NOTE: Addiction affects all creatures great and small…

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4/29/2017

Robert Bastille

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